And Should…, 1974 © James Welling

Exhibition on view:
The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984
Tuesday, April 21–Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
New York, New York
(212) 535-7710

Now on view until August is The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984. The exhibition is named after a group of artists working in New York from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, whose work and collective achievement is an important chapter in the history of contemporary art.

Coming from a generation with expanding media and consumer culture, and educated in the era of Minimalism and Conceptualism in art, the artists explore the social and psychological role of the image, and how it shapes our perceptions of ourselves and the world. The Pictures Generation 1974-1984 features the work of 30 artists and includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, video, installation, prints, and books.  Among the featured artists are Aperture-published Louise Lawler, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Simmons, and James Welling.